


Sleep Talking

by DarthTella



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Sleep talking, Ten/Rose - Freeform, slight angst, written for a tumblr prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-14 23:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16051193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthTella/pseuds/DarthTella
Summary: Rose catches the Doctor talking in his sleep.  Takes place directly after "I'll be There For You"





	Sleep Talking

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place right after "I'll Be There For You", but could stand on it's own as well.

A strange murmur woke Rose out of her sound slumber. It took her a few moments to remember that she had fallen asleep in her old bed in her old flat. With that knowledge she allowed her eyes to slip closed again.

She never remembered being this comfortable though. She was warm, with a comfortable weight resting on her back. Her head moved up and down slightly in time with deep breathing. Two hearts beat steadily under her ear in a comforting rhythm.

Her eyes snapped open again, as memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. The Doctor had come into her room offering tea and his company and she had gladly accepted both. Her cheeks heated up when she remembered the goodnight kiss he gave her before she finally succumbed to sleep.

She heard the murmuring again. It was the Doctor’s voice, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She sat up so she could see his face, and was slightly surprised to see that he was fast asleep. His face was so relaxed, save for a slight smile. He spoke some more, his voice quiet but carrying a strange lilting almost musical tone that was slightly different than his normal voice. It was then that Rose realised he wasn’t speaking English.

A sharp stab of worry shot through her. The TARDIS always translated languages for her! The only time it didn’t was when the Doctor had fallen into a healing coma just after his regeneration. But he was acting just fine the night before. And he had a cup of tea, and that’s what fixed him before!

She reached out and brushed her fingers across his cheek. His temperature felt about right, still cool to the touch, and he didn’t seem to be in pain. He was simply asleep! His smile widened as he nuzzled into her hand and she couldn’t help but smile back. More alien words spilled from his mouth, along with a word she recognized: her name. Her breath caught in her throat. Even though she couldn’t understand his words, it was clear what he was dreaming about.

Rose rested her head back onto his chest and just allowed herself to enjoy the quiet intimacy of this moment. He hugged her tighter to himself and Rose snuggled in closer. His hand drifted up and started combing through her hair.

“Rose?” He called out to her. She grinned into his chest, her imagination running wild about how she was being portrayed in his dreams. A giddy giggle escaped her before she could stop herself.

“What’s so funny?” The Doctor asked in perfectly understandable English. Rose bit her lip realising that he was now awake. She peeked up at him, and found him gazing back at her.

“Nothin’.” Rose said shyly. “You were talkin’ in your sleep.”

“Was I?” He asked, his brow furrowing slightly. She nodded.

“With a gob like yours, are you really surprised?” Rose shot him a tongue touched grin. “Couldn’t understand you though. I thought the TARDIS translated everything.”

“Almost everything.” The Doctor corrected her. “It does every language but one. It doesn’t translate Gallifreyan. Time Lords were quite pompous when it came to that. I suppose they never stopped to think that anyone but Time Lords would ever travel by TARDIS so they never bothered to install that particular feature.”

“So, when you talk to me, you’re speaking English?” Rose asked. The Doctor nodded.

“Yup.”

Rose rested her head back down on his chest. A contented sigh passed through her lips as the felt the Doctor’s hand rub up and down her back. But although she felt warm and comfy in his embrace, something still niggled at the back of her mind.

She could accept that the TARDIS didn’t translate Gallifreyan, but it made her feel a bit sad that he was forced to speak English for her benefit.

“Could you teach me?” She asked.

“Teach you what?”

“How to speak your language.” The Doctor didn’t say anything, “I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to have someone you could talk to in your own language?”

“Rose.” He breathed moving to sit up against the headboard forcing Rose to sit up also. The Doctor ruffled his hair eliminate the bed head, and possibly because he was feeling just a tad self-conscious.

“It’s not an easy language to learn. It’s full of concepts that would utterly confuse non-time sensitive species.” He warned.

Rose dropped her gaze from his and nodded sadly.

“But I can teach you a few useful phrases.” He offered. Rose glanced back up from her hands that were worrying the cuffs of her old hoodie at him and found he was beaming back at her.

“Who knows, maybe I’ll catch on quick and be fluent before you know it.” She shot a smug grin back his way.

“Well,” He drawled, a cheeky grin stretching across his face, “With a brilliant teacher such as myself, that is a distinct possibility.”

“And maybe then I’ll learn what you’re sayin’ in your sleep!” Rose chortled, then sobered slightly when she realised what that could imply. The Doctor shook his head.

“My dreams aren’t always that pleasant.” He said softly. “After the war... well, y’know.”

Rose reached out and laid a comforting hand on his arm, and he clapped his hand over hers. He never told her of all the horrors he’d seen during the war, only bits and pieces. But after seeing some truly horrible things while travelling with him she could understand why he would want to shield her from the entire truth of it all.

“But lately, they’ve gotten better. For the most part.” He squeezed her hand as he smiled warmly at her.

Rose shuffled back into his arms and the Doctor hugged her tight. The angle was a bit awkward and she was already getting a bit of a cramp in her neck by the way she had to lean over him, but she didn’t care. She felt him press a kiss to her shoulder, and she responded by kissing him just below his ear.

“Rose Tyler, I...”

A sudden knock on the door had them springing apart. That was all the warning they got before the door suddenly swung open, suddenly reminding them that there was another person in that flat with them.

“Mum!” Rose cried, her face turning bright red. She felt like a teenager all over again.

“Oh, so you’re not ‘like that’ are you!” Jackie said shaking her head at them.

“Good morning to you too, Jackie Tyler.” The Doctor huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest. “For the record, I’ve been a perfect gentleman!”

“He has!” Rose piped up, finding her voice again. Jackie looked them both up and down for a moment, motherly concern and worry etched on her features. Then her eyes softened and she nodded slightly.

“Kettle’s on the boil then. I’ll make us a nice big fry up so you’ll at least have some proper food in ya before you go off canoodling in that box of yours.” Rose caught the smile on her mother’s face as she retreated into the hallway. The Doctor sat there sputtering for a moment.

“Canoodling?!?” He finally spat. Rose felt like she had two options at this point. One involved letting the Doctor get off easy and keeping their relationship strictly platonic. But she knew that would never work seeing how far they’ve progressed. So she took the second, and only option she felt would work.

She leaned back over and took his face in her hands and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

“Now doesn’t that sound like fun.” She breathed, enjoying the dazed look on his face. She then hopped off the bed and raced off to meet her mother in the kitchen, leaving a thoroughly befuddled Doctor still sitting smack dab in the middle of her bright pink duvet.

“Oh yes.” The Doctor said to the empty room when his brain finally started working again.


End file.
